Mahalo no ka hoihoi ia 'oe e Stacey,
" 'O Ku-wa o ka lani" he inoa ke oli. Ma ka manawa kahiko e na kahuna, ua ho'omaika'i na wa'a.
Nana keia:
O Ku-wa o ka lani, o Ku-wa o ka honua,
O Ku-wa o ka mauna, o Ku-wa o ka moana,
O Ku-wa o ka po, o Ku-wa o ke ao,
O Malualani ke Ku-wa, O Malu-hopu ke Ku-wa,
Aia no ia ko'i la ke Ku-wa,
Ka wa'a nei o ka luahine makua.
Ka luahine! Owai?
O ka luahine o Papa, wahine o Wakea.
Nana i kuwa, nana i hainu
Nana I ho'onoanoa
Noa ke kuwa o ka wa'a o Waea,
O ka wa'a nei o ka luahine makua.
Ka luahine! Owai?
Ka luahine o Lea, wahin a Moku-hali'i.
Nana i kuwa, nana i hainu
Nana ihele, nana i a'e,
Nana i ho'onoanoa.
Noa ke kuwa o ka wa'a o Mokuali'i
Hinu helelei aku,
Hinu helelei mai,
He miki oe Kane
He miki oe Kanaloa.
O Kanaloa hea oe?
O Kanaloa inu awa.
Mai Upolu ka awa
Mai Wawau ka awa
E hano awa hua
E hano awa puaka.
Halapa i ke a kua i laau wai la.
Amama ua noa.
Lele wale aku la.
Uplifter of the heavens, uplifter of the earth
Uplifter of the mountains, uplifter of the ocean,
Who has appointed the night, appointed the day,
Malualani is the Kuwa and Maluahopu,
That ax also is a kuwa.
This is the ax of our venerable ancenstral dame (woman)
Venerable dame! What dame?
Dame Papa, the wife of Wakea.
She set apart and consecrated, she turned the tree about,
She impelled it, she guided it.
She lifted the tabu from it.
Gone is the tabu from our canoe of Wakea.
The canoe this if our ancestral dame.
Ancestral dame! What dame?
Dame Lea, wife of Moku-hali'i;
She initiated, she pointed the canoe;
She started it, she guided it;
She lifted the tabu from it,
Lifted was the tabu from the canoe of Wakea.
Fat drippin here;
Fat dripping there.
Active art thou Kane;
Active art thou Kanaloa.
What Kanaloa art thou?
Kanalo the awa-drinker.
Awa from Tahiti,
Awa from Upolu,
Awa from Wawau.
Bottle up the frothy awa,
Bottle up the well strained awa.
Praise be to the God in the highest heaven (laau) !
The tabu is lifted, removed.
It flies away.
The use of this oli was found in the book, "Mo'olelo Hawaii", "Hawaiian Antiquities". In it, the author, David Malo & Nathaniel Emerson, recount how this chant was used. The canoe is by it's onset a sacred thing and event. There are different ways a tree is selected in becoming a canoe. One such way was observing how a woodpecker, usually a kinolau ( earthly form) of the goddess Papa (who also takes other forms and goes by other names), flies through the forrest, and by it's observed actions by na kahuna, they then find that tree suitable. Along with other cerimonial protocols, the tree is felled. Through the duration of the creation of the wa'a, canoe.. it's kept in a halau (long house), and is cared for like a person. Some offerings that are give during this time is in the forms of food, one being pigs and pig fat.
when the canoe is ready to be sailed, it's then hauled down to the waters edge, and bathed in water, and then oli or chants are recited. When a canoe is basically test driven in the water, this oli is said, "O Ku-wa o ka lani". When the "test drive" is over, it returns to shore, and the kahuna asks the people in the canoe, if sailed well.. if so then it is done. The Kapu is lifted.
There are so many kanona ( deeper meanings ) in ths chant that it would take up way too much time on a forum to type out. The chant i used for our first race, was to symbolize our embarkment for our season, that it's gone underway, the first of this year...
Also in regards to na inoa 'o na wa'a, the names of the canoes. I have this to say;
We know the literal translation of these children. But for those who did the actual name creation, they are the ones who know the real meaning to those names. I'm not trying to mystify the names. But in Hawaiian tradition, it's really about the event that surrounds the names. If on the morning there was a rainbow and there was mist that hung atop the hills, there would be name associated with that: Kanoe'ulaokalani. Or often times, names are bestowed from beyond Po, the deep, the nether world. My name is such a name, Kama, or Tama. It's considered a spirit name. In hawaiian families, names are usually pondered and given by na kupuna, and they have the same inception, what's special or uniqute to it. So, the canoe 'Uhane 'O Kekuewa. CAn you guess what that name is and how it's specific and unique? The rest of the are the same. I sincerely hope that the other hui o wa'a, canoe clubs have the same. That they don't put a bling fold on and flip through the pages of a modern hawaian dictionary, and randomly place their finger, and find a cool sounding hawaiian name. I'm sure they don't however.
Hope this helps..
